Links to EU climate and energy foreign policy

Historically, Europe has played a leading role in shaping the climate negotiations, with Germany taking a pioneering role⁵⁹. In the EU, the European Commission (DG Clima) and – to a lesser extent – the European External Action Service (EEAS) are key drivers for climate diplomacy and its related climate foreign policy⁶⁰. A series of conclusions and reflection papers were adopted⁶¹. There has also been high level political commitment. For example Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, has made climate change a priority in her statement and activities⁶².

Compared to 2-3 years ago the EC’s climate diplomacy is more structured⁶³. As an example of a key achievement of such efforts, on 19 January 2015 EU foreign affairs ministers endorsed a Climate Diplomacy Action Plan prepared by EEAS and DG CLIMA⁶⁴. One organizational structure (although quite loose and informal) is the EU Green Diplomacy Network, set up in 2003⁶⁵. Germany is a key participant and driver in these EU climate diplomacy efforts.

The European climate diplomacy work of the EEAS has the advantage of having a broader base, compared to a single country approach. The representatives of the EEAS in other countries gener-ally compare their strategic analyses and coordinate their communication and engagement also with the EU Member State embassies⁶⁶. This is beginning to happen more systematically with a two-stage approach: Brussels collects the information from the head of the representatives and compiles updates on key developments and lists of key countries and shares these with member states to compare and comment. The coordination of the work in Brussels is carried out by the Dir VI B – Multilateral Relations and Global Issues, headed by Stephan Auer, who was the Director for Globalisation, Energy and Climate Policy in the German Foreign Office before being appointed to EEAS in 2012. Germany supported the introduction of his team to move EEAS’ climate diplomacy work forward but so far VI B has only two to three members of staff working on this issue. Signifi-cantly more resources, especially personnel resources, are needed in this team to enable the EEAS to develop a more long-term vision and strategy⁶⁷.

In international climate diplomacy, Germany has played a critical role with regard to the EU’s level of ambition, the relationship with China and the transatlantic relationship.⁶⁸ For example, in July 2011 the EU agreed new council conclusions on climate diplomacy, which admitted that by then much momentum had been lost. The conclusion was triggered by an Anglo-German letter

59 Climate change diplomacy: the way forward for Asia and Europe, editors: Dr. Wilhelm Hofmeister, Patrick Rueppel. Sin-gapore: Konrad Adenauer Stiftung: East Asian Institute : European Union Centre in Singapore; Brussels, Belgium: Europe-an Policy Centre,¬ [2014] , see online: http://www.kas.de/wf/doc/kas_40561-1522-2-30.pdf?150227062219

60 European Union- External Action, Climate Change Diplomacy, http://eeas.europa.eu/environment/index_en.htm

61 Ibid.

62 For example: Her statement on European Climate Diplomacy Day:

http://eeas.europa.eu/statements-eeas/2015/150617_02_en.htm; and her engagement with China on climate topic:

https://euobserver.com/eu-china/128612

63 Andrew Smith, Personal Interview. 27 May 2015.

64 Draft: Action plan for climate diplomacy From Lima to Paris: Climate Diplomacy in 2015 (publicly available only in a draft

version), https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dSm8fhLv79LAuiO1tB-gWDmUgOHn-y6lC_94vs5I31ekWEyF0tcBJehA-EkXtEsFL9B6V3ToOjN_ZD52/view

65 The EU Green Diplomacy Network, March 2011, see: http://eeas.europa.eu/environment/gdn/docs/gdn_more_en.pdf

66 Andrew Smith, Personal Interview. 27 May 2015.

67 Dr. Susanne Dröge, Phone Interview. 15 Jun. 2015.

68 Climate change diplomacy: the way forward for Asia and Europe, editors: Dr. Wilhelm Hofmeister, Patrick Rueppel. Sin-gapore: Konrad Adenauer Stiftung: East Asian Institute : European Union Centre in Singapore; Brussels, Belgium: Europe-an Policy Centre, [2014] , see online: http://www.kas.de/wf/doc/kas_40561-1522-2-30.pdf?150227062219

plaining that the EEAS needed to begin engaging in a more tangible and systematic fashion on the foreign policy dimensions of climate change. A climate unit that had originally existed in the Direc-torate General for External Relations (DG Relex, the predecessor of the EEAS) of the European Commission had been broken up and transferred out of the foreign policy orbit.⁶⁹

Another approach is to use the presidency of the European Union when it is Germany's term to push for agenda setting and initiatives. A good example is given in the box below⁷⁰.

69 Richard Youngs, Climate Change and European Security, 2015, see:

https://books.google.de/books?id=pg_EBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA42&lpg=PA42&dq=GERMAN+FEDERAL+FOREIGN+OF FICE+department+on+climate+change&source=bl&ots=evLaainbQS&sig=PfbWlATs9EeBxl58LzZoV_RQieY&hl=de&sa=X&ei

=GAQDVfLDFcfaU_iygng&ved=0CE8Q6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=GERMAN%20FEDERAL%20FOREIGN%20OFFICE%20depart ment%20on%20climate%20change&f=false

70 BMUB: Key Elements of an Integrated Energy and Climate Programme: Decision of German Cabinet on August 23rd/24th 2007 at Meseberg, Aug. 2007, see:

http://www.bmub.bund.de/fileadmin/bmu-import/files/english/pdf/application/pdf/klimapaket_aug2007_en.pdf

Example: Transatlantic climate and technology initiative

The Federal Foreign Office launched the transatlantic climate and technology initiative dur-ing the German presidency of the European Council as part of the German Federal Chancel-lor’s efforts to promote a broad-based “new transatlantic economic partnership” between the EU and the USA. The focus of this initiative lies on the harmonisation of standards, joint research projects and coordinated calls for tenders in the research field. The first concrete measures to be taken as a result of these steps were agreed at the joint EU-US summit in April 2007.

Goal: Closer transatlantic cooperation and consultation on climate protection and technol-ogy, in particular in the following fields: clean coal, development of renewable energies and energy efficiency.

Measures:

x Clean coal: the EU will fund demonstration power stations; the USA will increase finan-cial incentives for CCS research; there will be joint action to encourage newly industri-alising countries, such as India and China, to adopt CCS technology.

x Renewable energies: the EU has adopted a binding target of 10% for biofuels’ market share by 2020; the USA wants to reduce fuel consumption by 20% by 2017 through the increased use of alternative fuels; common standards for biofuels are to be drawn up jointly by the end of 2007.

x Continuation of the work of the joint US-EU Energy CEO Forum as part of the “transat-lantic technology initiative”: among other things through the involvement of entrepre-neurial expertise in the following areas:

o Biofuels (harmonisation of standards, sustainability aspects).

o Energy production (CCS, feed-in of renewable energies).

o Energy efficiency (harmonisation of construction regulations, labelling, e.g.

ENERGY STAR).

o Research & development (CCS, second-generation biofuels, energy storage).

x Within the EU and in its discussions with the Commission, Germany is seeking an inten-sification of EU-US research cooperation in the field of climate-friendly energy technol-ogies.

Another example is that under the German EU Presidency the heads of the European Union had adopted far-reaching political decisions on future EU energy policies and climate change reduc-tion targets. The European Council agreed, after lengthy negotiareduc-tions, on an acreduc-tion plan to put in place a European climate and energy policy by the year 2009, on 9 March 2007. This decision was pushed for forcefully by the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel.

On the climate security front, the seminal movement of the EU acknowledging the geopolitical dimensions of climate change came in 2007, and in 2008 the Commission and Council Secretariat set up an “informal steering group on climate change and international security”. Germany, Swe-den, Denmark, France and the UK have played prominent roles in keeping this forum active.

With regard to energy security, it is a crucial issue for all the EU countries. For Germany, it is im-portant to make its new energy and climate change policy coherent with EU energy security and at the same time transform the model from import and risk related energy resources to renewables and energy efficiency. BMWi has taken efforts to drive forward this energy security agenda with other European countries especially the neighbouring countries. A recent achievement has been the signing of a range of political declarations aimed at strengthening regional cooperation on ensuring secure electricity supplies among 12 neighbouring states, namely Belgium, the Nether-lands, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, and the Czech Republic.⁷¹ It was drawn up following the in-depth exchange initiated by Rainer Baake, who has been State Secretary of BMWi since July 2014. Four conferences were held be-tween the countries before a joint declaration was reached in June 2015.

A relevant development at a European level, is the agreement of forming the European Energy Union, with a forward-looking climate policy on the basis of the Commission's framework strategy, whose five dimensions are closely interrelated and mutually reinforcing (energy security, solidarity and trust; a fully integrated European energy market; energy efficiency contributing to moderation of demand; decarbonising the economy; and research, innovation and competitiveness)⁷². A blue-print for tackling global climate change beyond 2020 is part of a package unveiled by the Europe-an Commission⁷³.

The European Energy Council, where member states’ energy ministers meet regularly, is the key decision making body, supported by the Energy Working Group which meets once a week. Out of approximately 200 staff members, there are three members of staff in the German Permanent Representation to the EU who are part of this working group, with BMWi taking the leading role and the Federal Foreign Office and BMUB providing support.

Regarding the EU and its member states’ missions overseas, there are also regular coordination meetings such as the ambassadors' monthly meeting and the monthly meeting for department heads for each topic e.g. economy, education and politics.

71 See press release (8 June 2015): http://bmwi.de/EN/Press/press-releases,did=713038.html and more information:

http://ec.europa.eu/priorities/energy-union/index_en.htm

72 European Council Conclusions on the Energy Union (19 March 2015): http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2015/03/conclusions-energy-european-council-march-2015/

73 See earlier press release (25 February 2015): http://ec.europa.eu/clima/news/articles/news_2015022501_en.htm

2.5 Links to British and French climate foreign